The paper analyzes the different characters of the novel The Dark Knight through Jungian analysis. The archetypal figures and incidents are discussed along with the importance of shadow aspects.
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Running head: PSYCHOLOGY Psychology Name of the Student Name of the University Author Note
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1PSYCHOLOGY Introduction The purpose of the following paper is to analyze the different characters of the novelThe Dark Knight.This is a film based on the Batman and this has received overwhelming responses from the audiences. However, analysis of the different characters is the most important part of this paper. The different parts and shades of the main character of Batman and other archetypes will be detailed through the Jungian analysis (Brooker 356). Analysis of the archetypes `As this is a superhero movie, the principal character of the movie is Batman. It is very important to conduct the Jungian analysis of the film ((Walker 453). Some of the archetypal events in this movie are birth, death, separation from the parents, marriage of the individuals, the unification of the opposite characters and many more. Apart from that there are some archetypal figures as well. These archetypal figures in this movie The Dark Knight are father, mother, the child, the God, God, hero, trickster, the wise old man and the others. However, there are mentions of some archetypal incidents as well. These are the Apocalypse, the Creation, The Deluge and many others (Brooker 356). Apart from some of these archetypal figures, the mention of the shadow figures is very crucial indeed in the Jungian analysis. The protagonist of the movie is Batman himself. It is sure that Batman is not at all the shadow figure in this movie. It is because he would be the negative character if he was the shadow (Robertson 567). He has worked as the main inspiration to the other characters as well. Contrary to the character of Bruce Wayne, batman is not all feeble or superficial. Bruce has been an intimidating character in the movie but his portrayal by Jung has been quite feeble indeed (Walker 453). The character of Batman has been portrayed in a manner
2PSYCHOLOGY that he is able to do anything or is able to solve any problems that will occur in the different intriguing scenarios of the film. He has performed such activities that cannot be compared to any normal human being (Robertson 567).. Batman has gone to Hong Kong to deport a criminal. When the film ends a much more confident Batman has been shown as well. The dual nature of the protagonist of Batman and Bruce Wayne has been portrayed in a grand manner by the author indeed (Walker 453). It can be described in this section that Harvey Dent is one of the most important characters because he can be compared to the two-faced God Janus in the mythology. The character represents the cynical aspects of the human life and the collective psyche of the humanity (Jacobi 378). The two faced aspect of Harvey Dent is very much important since he is always on the opposite point of Gordon who is portrayed as the cynical and jaded policeman. Harvey Dent had been very active in the Internal Affairs system and raised his voices over the corruption of Gordon the best ways (Jung 765). One of the female characters in this movie is Rachel Dawes. Rachel has represented the animasymbol that makes her comparable with the historic figure of Helen of Troy in the Greek Mythology (Stevens 88). According to some critics, she has been termed asa damsel in distress. Rachel has been very moral about her decisions in her life and she has got no intention to compromise the ways she has been dealing her life (Jacobi 378). The fact of shadow has been discussed and analyzed in this novel as well. The shadow aspect is believed to be an important aspect of the unconscious mind of the people that comes from the repressed weakness of the mind, instincts of mind and the shortcomings of the human beings. Two of the most recognizable archetypes in this context areanimaandanimus.
3PSYCHOLOGY According to Jung, some of these projections in the human minds derive from the unrecognized values of the human minds. The unconscious plans of the psyche can be considered as very important aspects for defining the aspect of the shadow. Another important aspect in this context of shadow is theEnantiodromia(Jung 765).This refers to the emerging of the unconscious opposite when discussing the things about time. Conclusion The paper can be concluded by saying that the filmThe Dark Knighthas raised some very important psychological issues within the human psyche. The importance of the shadow aspects has been discussed within this paper and the psychological insight has been also provided on some of the characters of this movie referring to the proper analysis of the same.
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4PSYCHOLOGY References Brooker, Will.Hunting the dark knight: Twenty-first century Batman. IB Tauris, 2012. Jacobi, Jolande.Complex/archetype/symbol in the psychology of CG Jung. Routledge, 2013. Jung, Carl Gustav.The archetypes and the collective unconscious. Routledge, 2014. Robertson, Robin.Jungian archetypes: Jung, Gödel, and the history of archetypes. Open Road Media, 2016. Stevens, Anthony. "The archetypes."The handbook of Jungian psychology. Routledge, 2012. 88- 107. Walker, Steven.Jung and the Jungians on Myth. Routledge, 2014.